Musical apparatus.



F. H. HARTZELL.

MUSICAL APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 13, i911. 1,088,223. Patented Feb. 24, 191L 2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

cou mau PLANOGRIfPH 60.,WAsmNa'rON. n. c.

P. H. HARTZELL.

MUSICAL APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 11017.13, 1911.

1,088,223. I Patented Feb. 24, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

COLUMBIA PLANDGRAPH CD.,WASHNGTON, n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FOREST HARTZELL, OF DAYTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE CROWN HARDWARE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF DAYTON, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

MUSICAL APPARATUS.

Application filed November 13, 1911.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, FoREsT H. HARTZELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Musical Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to musical instruments and particularly to mechanical pianoplayers.

The invention relates to the pneumatic type of mechanical players wherein the operation of the device is controlled by a traveling perforated master sheet and relates especially to means for controlling the movement of the master sheet during the winding and rewinding operation and also for laterally shifting said master sheet to bring the perforations into registry with predetermined air passages or ducts.

The object of the invention is to simplify the structure as well as the means and mode of operation of such devices whereby they will not only be cheapened in construction but will be more positive in operation more eflicient in use, easily and quickly adjusted and unlikely to get out of repair.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved alternately operating brake mechanism controlling the winding and rewinding shafts which will be unaffected by the lateral adjustment of the master sheet.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved means for quickly and readily adjusting the master sheet laterally through an extended range of movement whereby the perforations of the master sheet may not only be brought into registry with the air passages or ducts but may be adjusted to register with any one of the series of said ducts whereby the musical composition represented by the perforations of such master sheet may be played in any one of several different keys.

With the above primary and other incidental objects in view as will more fully appear in the specification the invention consists of the features of construction, the parts and combinations thereof and the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 24:, 1914.

Serial No. 659,885.

mode of operation or their equivalents as hereinafter described and set forth in the claims.

Referring to the drawings Figure 1 is a front elevation of a portion of the assembled machine embodying the control mechanism forming the subject matter hereof, in its winding or normal operating position. Fig. 2 is a detail view similar to Fig. 1 showing the brake or control mechanism in the rewinding position. Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view of the mechanism for shifting the master sheet laterally in relation to the perforations or orifices of the tracker bar.

Like parts are indicated by similar characters of reference throughout the several views.

In the drawing 1 is the main frame or housing and 2 is the tracker bar therein having in its surface the perforations 3 forming the orifices of the several air passages or ducts which are opened and closed in predetermined sequence by the movement of the perforated master sheet 4 there across. During this operative movement the master sheet is wound from the roll 5 to the roll 6 with its perforations in registry with the orifices 3 in the tracker bar 2. The winding and rewinding mechanism is actuated by an air motor 7 shown at the right in Fig. 1 but which forms no part of the present invention. Secured to the side of the housing 1 is a frame comprising the parallel lateral members 8 connected by the transverse ties 9 within which are journaled in suitable bearings the winding shaft 10 and the rewinding shaft 11. The shafts 10 and 11 are preferably reduced or pointed at their extremities and are provided with thrust hearing as well as journal bearings in the lugs 12 carried on the frame member 8. Journaled in the frame members 8 between the shafts 10 and 11 is the main drive shaft 13 driven by the sprocket chain 14: from the actuating motor 7. Carried by the drive shaft 13 is a gear pinion 15 meshing with a gear 16 mounted upon the winding shaft 10. There is loosely journaled upon the drive shaft 13 a sprocket wheel 17 connected by a sprocket chain 18 with a corresponding sprocket 19 upon the rewinding shaft 11. The rewinding shaft 11 also carries a disk 20 forming a part of a brake mechanism hereafter mentioned.

The gear pinion 15 is movable laterally into and out of engagement with the gear 16 and when disengaged from the gear 16 it adapted to engage with the sprocket 17 by means of intermediate clutch mechanism whereby said sprocket 17 will be driven. The gear pinion 15 may be slidingly mounted upon the main shaft 13 and interengaged therewith by means of the usual feather or key whereby said gear pinion 15 may slide upon the shaft 13 or said gear pinion 15 may be secured rigid upon the shaft 1.? and said shaft reciprocated within its hearings in addition to its revo-luble movement. The sprocket 17 is held against lateral movement in unison with the shaft or with the gen.- pinion 15 by means of a stud 91 the head of which engages in a peripheral groove 22 in the hub of said sprocket. In the drawing the gear pinion 15 and the sprocket wheel 17 have been shown as provided with studs or pins 23 which interengage one with the other when the pinion 15 has been shifted laterally out of engagement with the gear 16 and by their engage-- mcnt drive the sprocket 17 as the shaft 13 rotatet. It is obvious that any suitable form of shifting clutch mechanism may be substituted for the construction shown. Pivoted upon a bracket Q-Zl carried by one of the side members 8 is a shift lever 25 having a stud 26 which engages a periplr eral groove in the gear pinion 15 to shift said pinion into and out of engagement with the sprocket and gear.

livotally supported upon the bracket 24 are two oppositely extending brake levers 27 and 28 each carrying a brake shoe 29. The brake shoe 29 of the brake lever 27 is adapted to engage the friction disk carried upon the rewinding shaft 11 while the corresponding brake shoe of the other lever 28 engages the side of the 16 carried upon the winding shaft 10. The brake levers 27 and 28 are connected with the shift lever by springs 30 and 31 on opposite sides of the pivoted point of said shift lever. hen the shift lever is moved to the position shown in Fig. 1 causing the gear pinion to inter-engage with the gear 16 to rotate the winding shaft 10, the spring 510 is placed under tension and draws the shoe of the brake lever 27 into frictional contact with the disk 20 thereby retarding the rotation of the shaft 11 and the master sheet 4 is withdrawn from the roll 5 and wound upon the roll 6 by the rotation of the wind ing shaft 10. The same movement of the shift lever relaxes the tension upon the spring 31 thereby releasing the pressure of the shoe 29 of the brake lever 98 upon the gear 16 leaving the winding shaft 10 free to rotate. During this winding operation the winding shaft 10 is driven from the main drive shaft 13 through the gears 15 and lb. The rewinding shaft 11 being at the Jame time disconnected from the drive shaft :3 by the disengagement of the eir 1 3 from the sprocket 17 and the rewinding shaft 11 only rotates under the influence of the. pcrforated sheet. it as it is withdrawn from the roll 5 and against the fr i :tional re" mice of the brake shoe 29 upon the disk 20. After the perforated sheet has been passed. from the roll 5 to the roll (3 across the. perforated tracker bar 2 and it is desirous to return the perforated sheet to the or inal roll the shift lever is oscillated as shown in l ig. 2 therehv shifting the gear pinion 15 out of engagement with the ear 16 and into engagement with the spi'mcket 17 with which it engaged by intermediate clutch teeth or by the studs or pins 23 as shown in the drawing thereby causing the sprocket 1? to rotate in unison with the drive shaft 13. The same movement of the shift lever relaxes the tension of the spring thereby permitting the brake lever 27 to oscillateto release the frictional pressure of its shoe 25 upon the disk 20 and at the same time the spring 31 is pl zu'ed under tension thereby drawing the shoe E3? of the brake lever 28 into frictional engagement with the gear 16 upon the umding shaft 10. The rewinding shaft 11 is driven from the sprocket 17 through the chain 1?; and sprocket 19 at an increased rate of speed due to the difference in size of tho sprockets 17 and 19. The shoe 25) of the brake lever 27 being released frcan frictional engagement with the disk 20 permits l the shaft 11 to rotate freely while at the same time the shoe of the brake lever E28 engaging the gear 16 retards the rotation of the shaft 10 as the perforated shoe? 1- i withdrawn from the roll (5 and returner" the roll 5 thereby keeping the mas.v .r f under tension. It will thus be seen i iat the operation of shifting the gear pinion 15 into and out of engagement with the gear 16 automatically reverses the b to meenanism to retard either the winding 1ft 10 or the rewinding shaft 11 accordiu to the direction of movement of the master sheet.

The extremities of the shafts 10 and 11 project within the housing 1 and each carries a sleeve 32 slidingly mounted upon the extremity of the shaft but engaged therewith by a suitable key or other connection whereby said sleeve 32 may reciprocate upon the shafts 10 and 11 but will rotate therewith. The rolls 5 and 6 are dctachahly engaged with the sleeves 32 in any of the well known manners as now us 1 a for connecting the rolls of such mechanical players with their supporting and drive shafts. Each of the reciprocating sleeves 32 is provided with a series of parallel peripheral grooves 33 forming an annular gear rack. Journaled in suitable bearings carried in the housing 1 is a shaft 34 arranged at right angles to the shafts 10 and 11 and carrying gear pinions 35 which mesh with the annular gear teeth formed in the reciprocating sleeves 32 by the parallel peripheral grooves At its lower extremity the shaft 34 is provided with a lateral arm 36 connected by a link 37 with one arm of a pivoted lever 38 secured to the base of the housing 1. The lever 38 carries a stud 39 projecting through a suitable arcuate slot in the base of the housing 1 and engaged by a thumb nut 40 whereby the lever 38 may be secured in its adjusted position. By oscillating the lever 38 the shaft 34 is correspondingly oscillated thereby partially rotating gear pinions 35 carried by said shaft 34 which by their engagement within the parallel peripheral grooves 33 of sleeves 32 will reciprocate said sleeves 32 upon the shafts 10 and 11. The continuous parallel annular grooves 33 of the sleeves 32 permit the sleeves 32 to rotate independent of the gear pinions 35 while said gear pinions 35 maintain their engagement with the grooves 33 and thereby retain the sleeves 32 in their adjusted positions. The gear pinions 35 in no way interfere with the rotation of the sleeves 32. By rotating the gears 35 to shift the sleeves 32 longitudinally upon the shaft extremities the rolls 5 and 6 may be shifted laterally to bring the perforations of the master sheet 4 to registry with the orifices of the air conduits or passages and the sheet may be shifted through a range of several of the conduits or passages enabling the operator to change the key in which the com position is being played. The shifting movement of the rolls is compensated for by a yielding or spring pressed bearing with which the opposite trunnion of the roll engages. Such yielding bearing may be of ordinary construction and forms no part of the present invention, and therefore has not been shown in the drawing.

It will be obvious that the adjustment of the master sheet or perforated sheet may be made very quickly and that such adjustment will in no way interfere with the driving mechanism or vary the pressure or frictional engagement of shoes 29 with the disk 20 and gear 16.

From the above description it will be apparent that there is thus produced a device of the character described possessing the particular features of advantage before enumerated as desirable but which obviously proportions, detailed construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the principle involved or sacrificing any of its advantages.

It is to be further understood that the means and mechanism herein described illustrates but one mode of putting this invention into effect and that the invention is therefore claimed broadly in any of its possible forms or modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention I claim,

1. In a winding mechanism, a receiving roll and a supply roll winding and rewinding shafts with which the rolls are connected, a drive shaft adapted to alternately actuate the winding and rewinding shafts, brake devices for the winding and rewinding shafts each independent of the other adapted to retard the rotation thereof, a lever pivoted at a medial point whereby said lever will comprise oppositely extending arms and operative connections between the brake devices and the lever on opposite sides of the pivotal point of the lever whereby as said lever is oscillated one of the brake devices will be moved into operative posi: tion and the other brake device relaxed, substantially as specified.

2. In a winding mechanism, a receiving roll and a supply roll, winding and rewinding shafts with which the rolls are connected, a drive shaft adapted to alternately actuate the winding and rewinding shafts, disks carried by the winding and rewinding shafts, two independent pivoted brake levers each capable of oscillation independent of the other carrying shoes adapted upon the oscillation of the levers to engage said disks, a pivoted control lever, an elastic link connecting one of the brake levers with the control lever at one side of its pivotal point, and a second elastic link connecting the other brake lever with the control lever at the opposite side of its pivotal point whereby at each oscillation of the control lever one of the elastic links will be placed under tension and the other elastic link released,

substantially as specified.

3. In a winding mechanism, a receiving roll and a supply roll, winding and rewind ing shafts with which the rolls are connected, a drive shaft adapted to alternately actuate the winding and rewinding shafts, a pivoted shift lever adapted to alternate the driving connections of the shafts, an independent brake device for each of the shafts, each of said devices being capable of oscillation independent of the other, and connections between said shift lever and brake devices connecting the brake devices with the shift lever at opposite sides of the pivotal is susceptible of modification in its form, point thereof whereby the movement of the shift lever to connect the drive shaft with In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set either of the wilndinlg or rlewigidilng shzifts my hand.

Will automatical re ease tle ra e 1116C12L- rwr 1 nism from the s aft With which the drive FQRESrl HARl/JLLL' shaft is to be connected and apply it to the Vitnesses:

other of said shafts, substantially as speci- HARRY F. NOLAN,

fied. EFFIE B. LUTTRINGER.

flopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

